Human rights
Global: Human Rights Defenders from Iran and Zimbabwe receive 2006 Martin Ennals Award
World Organisation Against Torture press release
2006-10-11, Issue 273
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/37669
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Mr. Akbar Ganji, an Iranian investigative journalist and human rights activist, and Mr. Arnold Tsunga a lawyer and a radio commentator from Zimbabwe, will receive the 2006 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) on Wednesday 11 October 2006, 17h30. Mrs. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will present the award during a ceremony at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva (Switzerland), within framework of the International North South Media Festival.
WORLD ORGANISATION AGAINST TORTURE PRESS RELEASE
Human Rights Defenders from Iran and Zimbabwe receive 2006 Martin Ennals Award
Mr. Akbar Ganji, an Iranian investigative journalist and human rights activist, and Mr. Arnold Tsunga a lawyer and a radio commentator from Zimbabwe, will receive the 2006 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) on Wednesday 11 October
2006, 17h30. Mrs. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will present the award during a ceremony at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva (Switzerland), within framework of the International North South Media Festival.
The Chairman of the Jury of the MEA, Mr. Hans Thoolen, described the laureates as “symbols of the human rights movement in their respective countries, where standing up for human rights and democracy is a dangerous activity; they continue to be involved in this struggle despite repressive measures and harassment”. Mr.
Akbar Ganji was detained in 2000 after he wrote articles implicating several officials in a string of murders of opposition intellectuals and writers in 1998. Later he was sentenced to imprisonment for “collecting confidential information harmful to national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system”. He was held 6 years in punitive prison conditions in violation of international human rights standards; he was beaten by his guards and placed in solitary confinement. After a hunger strike last year and a spell in hospital, he was conditionally released in March. After a short recovery, he started a tour in order to introduce Iranian intellectual movements and democratic circles to leading philosophers, theorists, and human right activists. He has written extensively in reformist newspapers, many of which were shut down. While in prison, his writings were smuggled out and widely distributed, especially on the web. Most notably, he wrote a Republican Manifesto in six chapters in March
2002 laying out his proposal for a fully-fledged democratic republic for Iran. Mr. Arnold Tsunga is the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) and trustee of the radio station Voice of the People (VOP), he is one of the leading human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe. In recognition of his legal work on human rights and strong reputation in his field, he became the new director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) in early 2003. Despite great personal risk, Mr. Arnold Tsunga has been representing individuals arrested under new, repressive legislation, including individuals who have been physically abused in custody. For representing these victims of human rights violations and denouncing the legal system and the human rights situation, he is constantly harassed and threatened. He was arrested several times and recently released on bail. His courage and work are internationally recognized: last June he was requested to speak out on behalf of human rights organizations at the first session of the new United Nation Human Rights Council in Geneva.
A unique collaboration among eleven of the world's leading non-
governmental human rights organizations makes the MEA the main award of the human rights movement. The JURY is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights, International Alert, and Huridocs.
The Patrons of the MEA are: Asma Jahangir, Barbara Hendricks, José Ramos-Horta, Adama Dieng, Leandro Despouy, Robert Fulghum and Theo van Boven.
The previous laureates are: Aktham Naisse, Syria (2005); Lida Yusupova, Russia; Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia; Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad; Peace Brigades International; Immaculée Birhaheka, DR Congo; Natasa Kandic, Yugoslavia; Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; Samuel Ruiz García, Mexico; Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria; Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; Harry Wu, China (1994).
For media contacts and general information on the MEA, please contact Luis Marreiros, Coordinator Tel. +41.22.8094925 marreiros@martinennalsaward.org <mailto:marreiros@martinennalsaward.org> / www.martinennalsward.org <http://www.martinennalsward.org>